This invention relates to on-demand systems. More particularly, this invention relates to managing local storage of on-demand content in on-demand systems.
On demand systems (e.g., video-on-demand (VOD) systems) have been developed that allow a user to order content (e.g., a video program) from an on demand server for playback (or execution, in the case of an application) by the user's equipment. In some approaches, a rental period associated with a VOD program defines a period of time during which a user may access the content. Rental periods may, or may not, be fee based.
For example, in a VOD system, it may be desirable to store a VOD program or a portion of a VOD program at the user's equipment to allow, for example, local VCR-like playback control. If the locally-stored VOD program were accessible by the user beyond an applicable rental period, the user would be able to, perhaps, watch the VOD program in contravention of the VOD provider's viewing policies and fee structure. Thus, it is desirable to prevent the user from retrieving, or to otherwise control the user's access to, locally-stored VOD programs beyond the expiration of the applicable rental period. More generally, it is desirable to control a user's access to locally cached on-demand content beyond an applicable use period defined by the content provider.